AGF Management Ltd. Acquires New Shares in Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX)

AGF Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 4,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $632,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,836,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in Neurocrine Biosciences by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 2,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in Neurocrine Biosciences by 2.6% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 4,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Neurocrine Biosciences by 2.7% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 99.1% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. 92.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Neurocrine Biosciences

In related news, Director Kevin Charles Gorman sold 146,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.46, for a total transaction of $21,836,853.30. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 514,596 shares in the company, valued at $76,911,518.16. This represents a 22.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ingrid Delaet sold 272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.10, for a total value of $37,563.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $346,216.70. This represents a 9.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 234,269 shares of company stock valued at $34,053,879. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $150.00 target price (down from $185.00) on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Neurocrine Biosciences from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Neurocrine Biosciences from $184.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Neurocrine Biosciences from $162.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.24.

Neurocrine Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NBIX opened at $110.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $129.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.88. Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $105.18 and a fifty-two week high of $157.98.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.62). Neurocrine Biosciences had a return on equity of 13.38% and a net margin of 14.49%. Research analysts expect that Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Neurocrine Biosciences announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Neurocrine Biosciences Profile

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc discovers, develops, and markets pharmaceuticals for neurological, neuroendocrine, and neuropsychiatric disorders in the United States and internationally. The company’s products include INGREZZA for tardive dyskinesia and chorea associated with Huntington’s disease; ALKINDI for adrenal insufficiency; Efmody capsules for classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia; Orilissa tablets for endometriosis; and Oriahnn capsules to treat uterine fibroids.